Zuiho looked down at the teenager alongside his two guests. Raising an eyebrow, he turned to Mura while scratching the thin grey whiskers on his chin.

“Mura, who is this?”

Tomoe immediately bowed with a worried look on her face.

“I’m sorry, sir! I-I just called you that because that’s what Mura called you! Please forgive me!”

“That’s Tomoe, she’s the girl we left to find today,” Mura explained. “The same girl who helped us fight off the demons that night. She was approached by yokai today, she has the ability to see spirits.”

Zuiho paused, thinking to himself with his arms crossed. After a second or two, he relented and motioned for them to come inside.

“Very well, but I don’t have any more rooms to accommodate her. You’re welcome to bunk with Mura, come now,” he said, looking around for others watching.

Once the three of them were inside Zuiho’s home, he shut the door and locked it behind them. Almost immediately, he focused his attention back to Mura with a lowered tone and grave look on his weathered face.

“Another human, Mura? Really?” he said.

“What do you mean, she’s just as human as you are?” Mura asked, crossing his arms defensively.

“Yes, well… My point is that I happen to be experienced in these things. Experienced in keeping my nose to the ground. She’s an adolescent. She fought alongside you, but the more followers you tote around the brighter of a target you’ll paint on your back.”

Mura paused, having never seen such a side from the old man before. Recovering from the shock of the shift in atmosphere, Mura lowered his voice as Tomoe and Lilith walked further ahead into the house and chatted among themselves.

“You don’t trust her?” Mura whispered.

“It’s not a matter of trust, it’s a matter of maturity. She’s too young, too inexperienced with the supernatural. It’ll attract the Poachers to you, along with any other shitidama lurking within the unseen world.”

“Unseen world? What, the realm I’m from?”

“No son. You’re from the Nether World: Kurayami. Currently now, we reside in Nakatsukuni, the Manifested World. Between the two lies a gap, a fissure that restless spirits reside in. It is identical to the world you see around you, but every malevolent force on this earth is exposed. This is Limbo, the Unseen World.”

“I never knew such a thing existed, I was only taught of the three primary realms…” Mura trailed off, wishing to ask Zuiho more on how he came to acquire such knowledge. “But whatever comes our way, I’ve accepted it. I’ll protect the girl. She’s accepted this too.”

“Has her parents? Her siblings and loved ones?” Zuiho immediately said. “This life you’ve chosen was forced upon you, but it wasn’t on her. Anyone who associates with you from this point must realize that they’re placing everything on the line... You may keep her for the night, but come morning you must never bring her here again.”

“Matsumoto, please—“

“My word is final… I say this on behalf of the many lives I’ve seen destroyed by those exiled such as yourselves.”

Mura tried to hide his feelings, looking away. Before leaving, he took a step toward Zuiho.

“Tomoe is doing this for the lives she’s seen taken from her, because no one else would.”

Mura walked away from Zuiho, not interested in anything else he had to say at the moment. He tried to force a smile after joining Lilith and Tomoe once more, who had Ai out showing off a movie on her screen.

He had to think of their next move. Tomoe wouldn’t take no for an answer, she was far too headstrong. That would mean either keeping their relationship a secret from their caretaker, or leaving him behind. Whatever choice Mura made, he would have to make it by sunrise.

Without warning, Mura spotted someone outside of Zuiho’s window; a short girl with blue hair and a dress sneaking around the old man’s bushes.

—The hell?!

“Lilith, take Tomoe into my room for a second. I need to check on something outside.”

Lilith looked puzzled, but followed his instructions.

“O-Okay, come on Tomoe let’s get your side of the room set up for tonight.”

Mura walked through the kitchen and opened a door that led outside to the back of the house where a patio was present. Shutting the door behind him, Mura briskly walked across the patio and down the stairs to the slightly unkempt lawn where the bizarre girl was hiding.

“Hey you, this is private property—” Mura said before the blue-haired girl looked over at him and revealed her face.

It wasn’t a girl at all. It was Zozo, wearing a blue wig and dress; motioning for him to join in the bushes.

“What the—“ Mura uttered.

“No time, Mister Headband! Come!” Zozo whispered.

Concerned, Mura quickly strode over to the messenger and knelt down into the bushes as the impish demon cast a spell over them both; resulting in a transparent, shimmering dome encapsulated them in a bubble.

“Good good, now the listeners can’t listen…” Zozo said, muttering to himself.

“Zozo, are you okay?! What the hell, why are you here? I thought it was illegal to even be near me!”

“I-It is!” Zozo said with a scared look in his eyes. “But I risked everything coming here for you, sir! Mister Naraka told me to deliver this message to you, whatever the cost!”

“Naraka!? What happened to him, tell me! Please!” Mura said, pleading with desperation in his eyes and assuming the worst.

“It’s y-you… Not him."

“What…?” Mura trailed off.

“Mister Headband… you’re… you’re the most wanted man in Yomi now… and they don’t want you alive…”

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❇ ❇ ❇

Batō Kōkyo, Yomi — September 3rd, one day earlier. Today was the ceremony Grendel had spoken of on the talk show from the previous night. Naraka was present on this beautiful afternoon of his own accord, having been instructed by Laz Larsa over the phone to take the day off and stay away.

It was obviously because the higher-ups knew Mura wouldn’t be arriving in person. Larsa promised an explanation during a private summary later that day on the “events to come”, which furthered proved Naraka’s fears that they were planning a set-up operation. Even more worrying was that Mara never came forward to tell Naraka of this operation beforehand, suggesting that his loyalties were now in question.

He’d have to win back Mara’s trust for the sake of keeping up appearances, but not today. A large crowd was present in the castle town as the medal ceremony was being timed in coincide with a local festival. The scent of freshly cooked meat and pastries filled his nostrils, along with the sweet aroma of grynup syrup outside the tavern nearby.

—Wonderful. They must be planning for a lot of chaos around here.

Naraka intended to blend in, dressing in a shoddy brown cloak with simple clothes underneath. A glamour spell was in effect on his hair, changing the color from purple to black. So far, he fit right in with the others in the crowd. Yatagarasu was at home, sleeping in its aviary.

Squeezing past a chattering family of four and then slipping between two drunk men, Naraka wormed his way through the civilians. As he approached the gates of the palace, he heard a loud burst of applause and cheering.

—Shit, I’m late.

Hurrying, the demon pushed past others until he reached a massive bulkhead of civilians lined up in front of the gates to watch firsthand. There was no getting past them from here. Not without risking his cover.

Naraka’s lavender eyes darted to the left, spotting a television screen broadcasting the events live. He could see a man waving to the audience, a man dressed in the clothing of his exiled student. He had his student’s face as well, even memorized his personality and body language perfectly.

—Grendel… that maggot-infested bastard.

The man on stage was Mura, or at least, that’s what everyone thought. The disguise was seamless, even to the trained eye. Naraka himself might have been fooled if he didn’t know the impossibility of the sights before him. From the redacted dossiers he was privileged to read, he knew a few of Grendel’s various abilities. One of which involved a mastery of subterfuge and the power to transform his appearance without the use of a glamour spell.

Glamour spells were incredibly difficult to master, and even then they weren’t perfect by any means. But with this display, it was no wonder how Grendel became the Empire’s spymaster. Naraka looked closely at the screen, straining his eyes before he spotted his target: Mura’s substream ring around Grendel’s finger.

“No…” Naraka let slip under his breath.

The crowd drowned the word, swallowing it in a raucous display of applause as the massive palace doors opened slowly. Eight royal guards dressed in hooded red robes flowed out in rows of two, with the emperor himself following behind.

Mara held his hand out toward the audience, his entire head and shoulders obscured underneath his distinctive veiled hat. His pallored skin appeared almost translucent in the sunlight, further highlighting his long, pristine black fingernails.

The emperor towered over his guards and Grendel too, nearly twice their size. The imposing leader of the empire walked slowly toward the false Mura. With his feet being hidden underneath his robes, Mara appeared to be hovering toward the impostor with the haunting movement of a specter.

The false Mura bowed before Mara, keeping his head and gaze toward the ground. Mara looked out over the crowd raising his hands up as the crowd fell silent and bowed before him too, except for Naraka.

After a pause of silence, the crowd rose back up as Mara began to speak.

“My brothers and sisters, today you’ve come to honor this festive tradition we hold dear at the capital. But you’ve also come to see your fellow man and dutiful servant to the Empire awarded duly for his services. Tenth of the Jikininki, Mura of Gakidō,” Mara stated calmly, looking down at his puppet. “Rise…”

The impostor rose up from the ground, craning his head to look up at Mara.

“Your Majesty…” Grendel spoke with Mura’s voice.

Mara smiled underneath his veil, his pale lips curling like a thorn’s edge.

“I award you today with the Hand of the Emperor, given to those who display service to this empire that goes above and beyond the call of all others.”

On cue, a robed guard came out with a sealed box containing the medal.

Naraka could feel the dread swell in his heart. He knew that there was nothing he could logistically do without consequence. Someone would be hurt, no matter what. At this point, he accepted this fact. He had to pay for his lack of foresight, both him and his disgraced student.

—I’ll tend to the wounded, but I have to keep clear of Mara and his goons. It’s taking everything I have currently to mask my Tamashiryoku completely, if I slip up, he’ll sense me.

Mara took the box from his guard and opened it, displaying the gilded medal within to the cameras and crowd. From over the shoulder of the man in front of him, it appeared as a small golden dot to Naraka given the breadth of distance between them.

“Mura, I gift this unto you. Accept it with my blessing, and the blessing of your people,” Mara gently spoke.

As the camera panned to Mura’s face, it revealed a smile. A faint one, not unlike the real Bloodstrider’s grin. This smile was a façade however, and quickly turned into a frown.

“Your Majesty…” the false hero said before holding out his hand toward the emperor’s chest.

Naraka’s eyes narrowed as he forced himself to watch helplessly at the transpiring events before him.

The substream ring on Mura’s hand flashed briefly before the Jigoku ni Tekine materialized in his grasp, fully extended. The blade was thrust upwards into Mara’s heart, causing a gush of arterial blood to spray onto the assassin’s face.

“I refuse you and your Empire of lies!” the false Mura said, spitting blood from his mouth in a furious rage. “Damn you all, every last one of you!”

Immediately, Mara stumbled backwards as the fake Mura withdrew his weapon. The robed guards materialized their weapons, not knowing what was going on other than their immediate task of arresting Mura and saving the Emperor.

The guards, who were meticulously trained in magic and weaponry, stood no chance before the man before them. With a flurry of stabs and ripostes, the disguised Grendel struck down all eight guards within a matter of seconds as the audience before them devolved into a deluge of screaming chaotic bystanders.

People fled everywhere, trampling over others as Naraka attempted to reach those who couldn’t move as fast, such as children and the elderly, and bring them to safety.

The news cameras near the stage had been abandoned as the crew fled to safety. Grendel, still masquerading as Mura, approached the camera and pulled it up to look into the lens.

“The cancer of this Empire has been burned away! I forever renounce this weak country and my demon heritage, as I’d rather live a life among the human swine than with the rest of you sheep! Death to you all, and death to any who chase after me.”

With that, the false Mura sliced the news camera in half and drew a sigil on the ground as more guards poured from the palace gates. In a flash of green light, the masquerading assassin teleported away as the guards rushed to Mara’s side, crowding around him. Other guards formed a barricade, preventing anyone else from approaching the scene.

Naraka looked around him as the chaos steadily escalated as sirens approached the scene and people still struggled to run away, crying and screaming.

There was one scream that stood out from the rest however. One that chilled the veteran hero’s blood.

“T-The emperor! He’s alive!” a woman cried out.

The words echoed as sound itself distorted into a dull ringing in Naraka’s ears. Not wishing to confirm the validity of the statement with his sight, but forcing himself regardless, Naraka slowly looked back to the stage.

Mara was indeed alive, standing up while his guards and a physician tried to ask him questions. Naraka could see the torn bloodied hole in the emperor’s robes where the blade pierced his heart, but the pale skin underneath was seamless without even a scratch.

Not even the strongest of regeneration magic could heal such a wound without a scar being left over, especially within mere seconds of a mortal injury being dealt.

The emperor raised his long arms into the air, drawing more of the crowd’s attention as the chaos began to subside into murmurs and cheering.

“My children!” Mara called out, his calm yet commanding voice now amplified with magic. “Bear witness this day that no weapon or force can claim my life! Whereas other leaders of this great nation fell to an assassin’s treachery, I alone am beyond Death itself!”

Everyone fell to their knees as the masses around Naraka bowed down before Mara’s miraculous survival.

Mara walked forward as Naraka looked on in dread at the monster before him.

The emperor looked directly at the crowd of worshipers as he smiled beneath his black veil.

“Rest assured, brethren. You shall all receive justice for our misplaced trust in the Bloodstrider. As of this moment, I declare Mura of Gakidō wanted dead. This is my decree.”